The Power of Gold
The History of an Obsession
by Peter L. Bernstein · first published 2000
83% recommend17% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Traces gold as money and as an object of human obsession, weaving together myth, economic history and modern context. It serves as a solid starting point for understanding gold's role in currency.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Incorporating myth, history and contemporary investigation, Bernstein tells the story of how human beings have become intoxicated, obsessed, enriched, impoverished, humbled and proud for the sake of gold. From the past to the future, Bernstein's portrayal of gold is intimately linked to the character of humankind.
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…https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debt:_The_First_5000_Years Money: The True Story of a Made-Up Thing by Goldstein (also of NPR's Planet Money): * https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50358103-money * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Goldstein And The Power of Gold: The History of an Obsession by Bernstein: > In this exciting book, the late Peter L. Bernstein tells the story of history's most coveted, celebrated, and inglorious asset: gold. From the ancient fascinations…
on “What is money, anyway?” ↗…https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rai_stones The only thing that has "inherent" value to humans is air/oxygen, shelter, water, and food. Everything else is psychological projection for convenience. See The Power of Gold: The History of an Obsession by Bernstein: * https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/249245.The_Power_of_Gold * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_L._Bernstein And Money: The True Story of a Made-Up Thing…
on “Inflation is differential and restructuring (2021)” ↗…precedent. It is possible to run out of gold on which to run an economy. We know this because it has happened: * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Bullion_Famine For a good history of the topic see The Power of Gold: The History of an Obsession by Bernstein: * https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/249245.The_Power_of_Gold We've used/tried gold and the world has moved on for good reason. There's no reason to regress…
on “How did the gold standard work?” ↗…other for the most transactions and business; Capitals of capital by Cassis has a modern era history. Before that, gold and silver were often used as lowest common denominators internationally. See The power of gold: the history of an obsession by Bernstein for that. However metals weren't used everywhere: e.g., China used paper currencies for many years, and giant rocks where used in Micronesia: * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rai_stones…
on “Crypto is an unproductive bubble” ↗…off the gold standard in the Great Depression the sooner they started to recover. * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_standard#Causes_of_the_Gr... For a history of the use of gold as currency see The Power of Gold: The History of an Obsession by Bernstein (the second edition has an introduction by Volcker): * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_L._Bernstein Economic activity can be hampered by the lack of money…
on “How did the gold standard work?” ↗For anyone interested in a good history of using gold as money, Peter Bernstein's The power of gold: the history of an obsession is worth looking into: * https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/249245.The_Power_of_Gold Money: The True Story of a Made-Up Thing by Jacob Goldstein (of NPR's Planet Money)…
on “Why Henry III's gold penny failed” ↗For a good history of the use of gold as money see The power of gold: the history of an obsession by Peter Bernstein: * https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/249245.The_Power_of_Gold * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_L._Bernstein Also good are Money : the true story…
on “How did the gold standard work?” ↗…deflationary periods, and much suffering. It certainly made the Great Depression worse: * https://www.nber.org/papers/w3488 Gold-as-currency was useful when we didn't know better, but we've moved on. See The Power of Gold: The History of an Obsession by Bernstein for a good history: * https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/249245.The_Power_of_Gold
on “Inflation is differential and restructuring (2021)” ↗According to Peter L. Bernstein’s The Power of Gold: The History of an Obsession (a book I’d highly recommend), fractional banking has its origins in scams perpetrated by goldsmiths, who’d issue promissory notes for more precious metal than they had in…
See also Money: The True Story of a Made-Up Thing * https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50358103-money And The Power of Gold: The History of an Obsession (2e has an intro from Volcker): * https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/249245.The_Power_of_Gold With all the talk of the US dollar losing its status (highly unlikely due…
on “Observations on Credit and Lending Practices in Ur III Mesopotamia (2004) [pdf]” ↗If anyone wants a decent history of gold-as-currency, Peter Bernstein's The Power of Gold: The History of an Obsession is pretty good (second edition has a preface by Volker): > Incorporating myth, history and contemporary investigation, Bernstein tells the story of how human beings have…
on “The Kingdom of Lydia minted gold, silver coins (2022)” ↗…Friedman: the battle over the free market. The currency of politics: the political theory of money from Aristotle to Keynes by Sefan Eich, Money: the true story of a made-up thing by Jacob Goldstein, and The power of gold: the history of an obsession by Peter Bernstein (also his Against the Gods on risk). Show how much of a human construct "money" is, how its meaning changes in different times and places/cultures. Should…
on “Ask HN: Best non-fiction book you read in 2024?” ↗Big ups for Bernstein, Against The Gods was a fantastic read and I can’t wait to read Power of Gold. Another book I’d like to throw into the mix here: Central Banking 101 [0] Fantastic overview of how the current central banking system works, written post-Covid so it has some context for the extensive…
on “What is money, anyway?” ↗…France (and destroyed the country's economy). The cypherpunks, a group of radical libertarian computer programmers, paved the way for bitcoin. * https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/50358103 And The power of gold : the history of an obsession (and Bernstein's other books): > Incorporating myth, history and contemporary investigation, Bernstein tells the story of how human beings have become intoxicated, obsessed,…
on “How I think about debt” ↗…aerospace) as well as medical and dentistry. For a little while it was used as (the basis of) money, and now that particular fetish has stuck around: * https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/249245.The_Power_of_Gold Bitcoin and gold are now simply commodities, like oil or frozen concentrated orange juice. Human psychology is weird.
on “Bitcoin price hits $100K for first time in history” ↗